Police identify driver in double fatal that blocked U.S. 101 for hours

View full sizeOregon State PoliceWreckage from the single-vehicle crash was strewn along U.S. 101.

Oregon State Police identified the driver in a double fatal that blocked U.S. 101 for three hours Tuesday as Jose Manuel De Leon Colomo, 24, of Newport.

Colomo was cut out of the wreckage and flown to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis with serious injuries. He remains in the hospital today.

Two male passengers in the van he was driving were killed. One of the men was thrown from the vehicle when it careened off the highway south of Seal Rock, went over a slight embankment and crashed into a tree. The van broke into pieces along the highway.

State police are still trying to identify the dead men and notify their next of kin. Police say they are investigating whether alcohol was a contributing factor.

According to Sgt. Justin McGladrey, the 1997 Chrysler van was northbound on U.S. 101 around 10:30 a.m. near milepost 154 when the wreck happened. OSP troopers from the Newport Area Command office are continuing the investigation with the assistance of the Multi-Agency Traffic Team. A Lincoln County district attorney's office representative and the Lincoln County medical examiner responded to the scene.

Central Coast Fire & Rescue, Yachats Fire Department, and Oregon Department of Transportation are assisting at the scene. The highway was restricted to one lane until about 4:30 p.m.